Summer Movie Preview: Peek Inside the Flicks Heating Up the Big Screen

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Summer Movie Preview: Peek Inside the Flicks Heating Up the Big Screen

From live-action remakes to on screen reunions, summer 2019 is the season of A-list movies and stars. While Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt take on 1969 Los Angeles in once Upon a Time in Hollywood, comedy duo Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler reunite once again. Scroll through the gallery below for more on all the movies of the summer. For even more summer flicks – including exclusive interviews with Tim Allen (Toy Story 4), Regina Hall (Shaft), Melissa McCarthy (The Kitchen), Jacob Tremblay (Good Boys) and many more – pick up Us Weekly, on stands now.

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Summer Movie Preview: Peek Inside the Flicks Heating Up the Big Screen

From live-action remakes to on screen reunions, summer 2019 is the season of A-list movies and stars. While Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt take on 1969 Los Angeles in once Upon a Time in Hollywood, comedy duo Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler reunite once again. Scroll through the gallery below for more on all the movies of the summer. For even more summer flicks – including exclusive interviews with Tim Allen (Toy Story 4), Regina Hall (Shaft), Melissa McCarthy (The Kitchen), Jacob Tremblay (Good Boys) and many more – pick up Us Weekly, on stands now.

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Aladdin

Mena Massoud stepped into a whole new world when he landed the leading role in Disney’s live-action remake: “I had to train with a stunt team, and learn to scuba dive, camel ride and juggle,” says the actor, 27 — and still, he says, the toughest part was the dancing! Luckily, he bonded immediately with costars Naomi Scott (Jasmine) and Will Smith (Genie), who were able to help him out. “I had never met Will, I had only heard stories of him, kinda like how Aladdin has probably only heard stories of a genie. As we filmed, we got closer. You’ll see the chemistry on screen.” He also noted that the movie used a great deal of improv!

“There’s a scene with me and Will and Naomi when Prince Ali and the Genie first meet the royal family and that’s a pretty fun scene. Me and Will improvised the whole thing,” Massoud says. “It was pretty fun to be able to do that with him – improv with one of the greatest actors of all time.” (May 24)

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Booksmart

This sweet romp follows studious Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) during one crazy night (their last one) before high school graduation in Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut. “Olivia [kept] everyone happy, and everyone loved each other so dearly,” raves Dever, 22. “No one was competing with each other.” Extra points for a stellar soundtrack featuring Lizzo, Run the Jewels and more. (May 24)

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Rocketman

Taron Egerton takes on the ultimate challenge of playing Elton John before he was Elton John. The film is more of a fantasy musical than a straight biopic, following both the singer’s career and personal life, and chronicling his struggles with substance abuse and depression. (May 31)

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Sure, it's cool starring in a blockbuster summer movie, but Vera Farmiga, who plays Dr. Emma Russell in the franchise sequel (alongside costar Millie Bobby Brown) really just wanted to wow her children, Gytta, 8, and Fynn, 10. “I thought my kids would be impressed watching their mama handle God-size lizards with brawn and finesse, trying to save the world, she says, noting that it was refreshing to play a fierce mama bear. (May 31)

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I Am Mother

After being raised underground by a robot, Daughter (Clara Rugaard) meets a blood-soaked woman (Hilary Swank) with new details about the world. “It’s always been Daughter and the robot, so it’s alarming when this woman disrupts everything,” says Ruggard. “Daughter yearns for human connection; she always has. She’s spent her entire life researching and watching old recordings of life on earth and is incredibly fascinated by it. Seeing her kind thrive in this world together, seeing what other life she could have lead, has always made her feel as if something was missing from hers. So when she finally meets Woman she’s just completely and utterly overwhelmed. She wants to be her friend and wants to be able to trust her.” (June 7)

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Dark Phoenix

Goodbye, Sansa Stark. Fresh off the end of Game of Thrones, Sophie Turner returns as Jean Grey in the 12th X-Men film. We follow Grey as she loses control of her abilities during a mission and unleashes the Phoenix. “I wanted to dig in as far as I could to really tell a character-driven, very emotional, very intimate story,” says writer Simon Kinberg, who adds that the character’s actions affect every being around her, especially Scott (Tye Sheridan) and Professor Xavier (James McAvoy). “You’re not used to a hero doing villainous things and being destructive; morality becomes something that’s not black and white or good and evil, but grey,” he says. “No pun intended.” (June 7)

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Late Night

In order to save her talk show, Emma Thompson’s Katherine hires a female writer, Molly (Mindy Kaling, who also penned the script). “Emma and Mindy are such opposites in so many ways that it makes for a very riveting chemistry in the movie. They both do work very hard to make the comedy seem effortless and that is one important thing they have in common,” says director Nisha Ganatra. As for why the film works today, the answer is easy: “We didn’t shy away from the difficult subjects and topics. We dove into them head on and looked at, took apart, laughed at and ultimately tossed aside the things that we’ve been taught are pillars of importance in late night TV." (June 7)

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Murder Mystery

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, who costarred in 2011’s Just Go With It, team up as a married couple who get caught in a whodunit while on vacation. (Netflix, June 14)

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Shaft

John Shaft Jr. (Jessie T. Usher) turns to his estranged dad, John Shaft II (summer staple Samuel L. Jackson), for help after his best friend is murdered in the fifth movie of the Shaft franchise. And while Shaft may be a strong man, he has a soft spot for his ex (Regina Hall). “I love what they did with the relationship. Shaft is so strong, he's such a ladies' man, but there's always one person in every person's life that they just love,” she says. “So, they did allow for her to love and have a relationship that he doesn't have with anyone else. When she's frustrated with him, he's, like, a person in a relationship just gotta hear their partner’s fuss. It's great to see a vulnerable part of Shaft with a woman.” (June 14)

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Child's Play

Self-proclaimed “horror genre enthusiast” Brian Tyree Henry stars in this revamp of the Chucky movies. This time, the doll is Buddi. New name, still creepy. “What I find about our retelling that’s fresh is that, you’ll find yourself questioning what friendship truly means in the end,” he tells Us. “I was of the era that decided boys toys are blue and female toys are pink. But can friendship be categorized by color?  Or status? Or age? Or sex? No. It can’t. It just lies in the human appeal of even being human. And that’s why I love the retelling that we did. We didn’t seek out to perfect or modify the story of Chucky because the need of Chucky in the first place is scary enough.” (June 21)

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Toy Story 4

Grab your tissues and follow your favorite toys on their fourth adventure. Tim Allen, who’s been voicing Buzz Lightyear since 1995, tells Us he “had trouble” getting through the script. “It ends and I got choked up. I literally had a hard time saying my last line,” admits the actor, 65, who adds that Tom Hanks, who voices Buzz’s BFF, Woody, had the same reaction. “Twenty-five years of friendship between Woody and Buzz has morphed into a very close friendship with Hanks and me.” As with the three before it, the latest installment has a very clear message: “It’s about how we treat each other.” (June 21)

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Yesterday

Just when struggling singer Jack (Himesh Patel) is about to give up on his career, an accident occurs that leaves him with a special gift: He’s the only one who’s aware of The Beatles’ music! Naturally, he introduces it to the world. “It’s one of those fantasies that people have been having for a while, but now we’ve penned our story,” says Patel, 28, of the Danny Boyle film. “It’s such a great way of celebrating The Beatles, rather than a straight biopic.” You could say he’s a fan: “Even ‘global phenomenon’ feels like I’m underselling The Beatles.” (June 28)

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Spider-Man: Far From Home

After suffering a shocking loss, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man returns. While on a school trip to Europe, he’s recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who need his help to take down a mutual enemy. (July 2)

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Stuber

“I found myself laughing aloud when I read the script,” says Dave Bautista, who plays detective Vic in the comedy. Kumail Nanjiani (Uber driver Stu) tells Us there was a ton of improv on set, which didn’t always work: “We ruined a lot of takes by laughing!” (July 12)

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The Lion King

It’s the kingdom as you’ve never seen it before! Big names Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor and James Earl Jones (who voices Mufasa, as he did in the 1994 original) lend their voices to the Disney remake, but it’s Shahadi Wright Joseph, 14, who plays young Nala, who knows the story best: She’s been starring in the Broadway production for years. “What I’ve learned being in both versions is that the young Nalas and Simbas really have to get along for it to appear like they have an amazing friendship” — and it was no sweat, she says, to portray that connection with costar JD McCrary. She had a few more jitters when it came to meeting adult Nala, played by Queen Bey: “Of course, there’s a little pressure because she is the Beyoncé.” (July 19)

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Dora & the Lost City of Gold

Eva Longoria couldn’t wait to play the iconic explorer’s mom in the adaptation of the Nickelodeon series. “It was exciting because I had just become a new mom. To play a mom while becoming a mom was surreal and fun,” says Longoria, 44. “Santi was 6 weeks old when we filmed!” (August 9)

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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Perhaps the buzziest film of the summer, Quentin Tarantino’s true-crime drama (which debuted at Cannes) takes place in 1969 Hollywood during Charles Manson’s murder spree. But it’s not the serial killer (portrayed by Mindhunter’s Damon Herriman) or even his famous victims, including Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who are the focal point of the drama. The film’s true subject is the year itself, honing in on TV actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his longtime stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), as they navigate a changing Hollywood. Al Pacino, Damian Lewis and Dakota Fanning also star, as does Luke Perry, in his last role before his untimely death in March. (July 26)

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Hobbs & Shaw

The Fast & Furious movies are all about speed and intensity, and this spinoff is no exception. But when Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham are on set together, it’s nothing but laughs, says writer Chris Morgan. “The biggest problem working with those guys is just keeping them from cracking each other up,” he tells Us. “The way they mess with each other when they’re on set, it makes coming to work every day so fun.” The action in this is “way too big,” Morgan notes, but knows franchise lovers will be on board from the start: “These guys are totally different in style and in attitude but they have, at their core, the same code.” (August 2)

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The Kitchen

This is one trio we wouldn’t want to tussle with. Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss play the wives of Irish mobsters who take over their husbands’ business when the men go off to prison. “It’s always nice when you can kind of surprise and turn audiences off of what they expect,” says McCarthy, 48, who describes her character as someone who’s “always been the daughter, the wife, the mom – and now she’s created herself into a boss!” People used to seeing the Bridesmaids actress in comedic roles will be surprised: “It’s the fun of storytelling — to give people what they’re not expecting.” That said, the vibe on set was not so serious. “[Elisabeth and Tiffany] are both really funny, so it was always a fun day at work.” (August 9)

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Blinded by the Light

Gurinder Chadha, who directed Bend It Like Beckham, is a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, and so is the main character in her film, a British-Pakistani teen in the late ’80s. “I think fans are going to really like the story because it’s different and honors Bruce in a particular way,” she says. “I used the music to really bring the happiness, to make people care.” (August 14)

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Good Boys

At home, Jacob Tremblay doesn’t curse — “I’d get sent to my room!” he says — but Max, his character in this new movie from the team behind Superbad, isn’t quite so squeaky clean. The film follows the 12-year-old and his friends as they prepare for their first kissing party — and that’s where Jacob and his alter ego do have a little more in common. “We’re very love struck! We’re both in the girl situation. It’s that time of your life where you get crushes,” the Oscar nominee tells Us. The role is his first comedic part — and it wasn’t easy! “It’s harder for me to hold in laughter than it is to cry. In the middle of the scene my face will turn red, and I’ll be trying so hard to hold in laughs!” (August 16)